Yoshiyasu was born in Edo as Inuchiyo (犬千代), the first son of Maeda Nariyasu.[1] His mother was Yō-hime, the daughter of ShōgunTokugawa Ienari. In 1842, he was presented to the Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyoshi in formal audience, who a week later presided over his genpuku ceremony. At that time, his name was changed from Toshizumi (利住) to Yoshiyasu.

In May 1864 he was sent to Kyoto in Nariyasu’s place as leader of the Kaga samurai assigned to guard the Imperial Palace, however due to his poor health he preferred to stay at a small Kaga exclave located in Omi Province, far from the danger. While there, he unsuccessfully attempted mediate between the Chōshū samurai and the forces of the Tokugawa shogunate at the time of the Kinmon incident. This opened Kaga Domain to a charge of collusion with enemies of the state, and an alarmed Nariyasu had Yohsiyasu sent back to Kanazawa under house arrest, which lasted until April 1865.

On April 4, 1866, on the retirement of his father, he became daimyō of Kaga Domain; however, he was only a figurehead as his father continued to control all power. Kaga Domain joined the imperial cause in the Boshin War, and Yoshiyasu was appointed Imperial Governor of Kanazawa in June 1869. His court rank was increased to Senior Third Rank a month later. After the abolition of the han system in July 1871, he relocated to Tokyo. Shortly afterwards, he developed tuberculosis, and died at Atami on May 22, 1874, at the age of 43. He was posthumously elevated to Senior Second Rank in 1893.